Ceremony marks beginning of major revamp of A&E at Worksop's Bassetlaw Hospital

The £17.6 million project, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, will significantly expand the ED’s capacity and facilitate the co-location of children’s services.

"Once complete, the new facility will enable the return of 24/7 urgent and emergency paediatric care. This will address an issue which arose in 2017 which necessitated children requiring overnight observation and treatment to be transferred to Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

On Thursday July 13, Suzy Brain England OBE, Chair of the Board at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) and Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith were joined by colleagues at the trust and members of the project team to officially break ground and signal the start of construction.

Suzy said: “I am absolutely delighted to see the commencement of this enhancement project. Once this service is up and running, we will have spent around £35 million to redevelop facilities within Bassetlaw Hospital – I believe this is a testament to our dedication to improving healthcare services for the people of Worksop and the surrounding areas.

“I would like to extend my gratitude to all our colleagues who have worked tirelessly to bring us to this point. The commitment, expertise, and collaboration demonstrated by our internal teams, external advisers, and construction partners have been invaluable in shaping this project.

“Bassetlaw Hospital is crucial to our identity as a trust, and I eagerly await the completion of these works, and look forward to further developments of this site in the future to ensure that it remains a crucial part of the community now, and for many years to come.”

To facilitate the construction works at Bassetlaw Hospital, a temporary ambulance route leading directly off Blyth Road was established in late June.

Patients arriving by car can continue to use the existing Blyth Road entrance and park in the newly created car park on the north side of the hospital.

As an alternative entrance during the hours of 5am to 10pm, patients can utilise the Clinical Therapies entrance or take a short walk to access the new pedestrian route to the Emergency Department from Blyth Road.

Mr Clarke-Smith added: “I was proud to attend the ground-breaking today to see the work commencing on this important and welcome investment into our local hospital.

“This upgrade will bring back children’s overnight stays, which I know will be important for so many families. My son Alexander was born at Bassetlaw Hospital in September and the care we received was excellent. When he later fell ill we found ourselves not only having to use Bassetlaw Hospital, but also having to make the trip to Doncaster Royal Infirmary and stay over, so I can empathise and appreciate why this new development is so important.

“I want to thank everyone on the team for their work to make this happen and for everything the staff at our hospital do for the community. I will continue to work to make sure Bassetlaw Hospital is equipped for the future.”

It is envisaged that the new Emergency Department, along with paediatric services, will open its doors to patients in late summer 2024.